>> mason: tonight, superstorm christie. >> shame on you. shame on congress. >> mason: northeast republicans blast their own party from speaker boehner on down for failing to pass a sandy relief package. elaine quijano is covering. over the cliff and back. nancy cordes and wyatt andrews on the new year's night budget deal and how a tax break for racetracks got in it. obesity is a health risk. but researchers now say being a little overweight could reduce your risk of dying. dr. jon lapook with a surprising new report. and she was one of the most popular sickers ever. remembering patti page. ♪ i was dancing with my darling to the tennessee waltz ♪

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley>> mason: good evening, scott's off tonight. the sigh of relief that came when the house passed the fiscal cliff deal was soon drowned out by a roar of anger. governors chris christie of new jersey and andrew cuomo of new york along with senators and house members from those states blasted house speaker john boehner today for putting off a vote on aid for victims of superstorm sandy. we have three reports on all this tonight. first, elaine quijano on the storms of protest over sandy aid that got action. elaine? >> reporter: good evening to you, anthony, well, here at the statehouse in new jersey, republican governor chris christie said the people of his state are being used as political pawns just two months after sandy hit. >> 66 days and counting. shame on you. shame on congress.

>> reporter: superstorm sandy caused over $36 billion in damage in new jersey. governor christie says he was assured by congressional leaders that the aid package would be put to a vote. but house speaker boehner pulled the legislation and did not return christie's phone calls. >> disaster relief was something that you didn't play games with. >> reporter: do you feel betrayed right now, governor? >> yes. if the people of new jersey feel betrayed today by those who did this in the house last night then they have good company, i'm with them. >> reporter: boehner says he pulled the bill because of scheduling problems. but some members of congress questioned how the $60 billion aid package would be spent. new york congressman peter king, a republican, would have none of it. >> congressional republicans never have any trouble finding new york city or new york when it comes to raising money. well, you know, this is a two-way street and if they're not going to help us, why should we even think of helping them?

>> reporter: this afternoon, congressional leaders announced they would vote friday on funding for flood insurance, but a vote on the bulk of the aid has been pushed to january 15. new york governor andrew cuomo. >> well, go ask any family if the delay bothers them. yes. the length of time is already too long and the federal assistance can make a major difference. >> reporter: speaker boehner met with g.o.p. lawmakers from new york and new jersey late this afternoon. afterwards, congressman peter king called it a positive meeting and, anthony, he said he now believes that the region's storm victims will get the aid they need. >> mason: that's good news. elaine quijano, thanks, elaine. you heard governor cuomo say a few moments ago "go ask my family if the delay bothers them." seth doane did just that. you'll hear from a homeowner waiting to rebuild later in the broadcast. now to the bill congress did pass late last night to pull the

country back from the fiscal cliff. tax rates are going up for high-income earners. jobless benefits will continue for the long-term unemployed. and the payroll tax is going up. but spending cuts have been put off. nancy cordes is on capitol hill. nancy? >> reporter: anthony, after months of procrastination and accusations and closed-door meetings, congress finally passed a fiscal cliff bill last night. it left everyone relieved but no one truly happy. >> the motion is adopted. >> reporter: even republicans who voted for the plan are angry it has no serious spending cuts while democrats think the white house made too many concessions on taxes. kent conrad is a senator from north dakota. >> i hate this agreement. i hate it with every fiber of my being. because this is not the grand bargain that i hoped for or worked for or believed is so necessary to the future of the

country. mr. president, this is not by any standard a deficit reduction plan. >> reporter: mostly it's a tax plan. the bill permanently extends the bush-era tax cuts for all household income under $400, 000 a year for individuals and under $ 450rbgs000 for families. the bill also prevents the alternative minimum tax from hitting millions of middle-class families by permanently adjusting it to inflation. the bill bump it is' state tax rate up from 35% to 40%, exempting the first $5 million, and it allows the 2% payroll tax holiday to expire, adding about a thousand dollars to the average family's tax bill in 2013. but the last-minute agreement only deals with half the fiscal cliff. the other half is $110 billion in across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs this year alone.

negotiators destkaoeuded to postpone those cuts for two months setting the stage for another spending fight that republicans like bob-day-old of illinois are eager -- bob dold of illinois are eager to have. >> i for one hope that we can talking about reigning in the out-of-control spending but it won't happen with one party or the other. it's going to have to be about bipartisanship. >> reporter: that bipartisanship is going to get tested right away when the new congress, which gets sworn in tomorrow, has to take a vote some time in the next two months over whether to raise the debt ceiling. republicans say they want big entitlement cuts in exchange for their votes. the president, anthony, says he's not negotiating. >> mason: nancy, is speaker boehner in any trouble over all this? >> well, the speaker does come up for a vote tomorrow about whether he gets to keep his speakership. there were certainly some conservatives who were frustrated about the fact that they had to take this vote on the bush tax cuts but most don't seem to be blaming him. they knew the tax cuts were

expiring, they knew that the political reality was that they weren't going to be able to keep all of them so most of them don't seem to be holding the speaker accountable. >> mason: nancy cordes at the capitol. thanks, nancy. with the budget deal done president obama resume it had vacation he'd been forced to cut short. he returned early today to hawaii to rejoin his family. the white house has not said when the president will sign the budget bill, only that it will be done "in a timely fashion." and the president will find that some pork has found its into the bill. wyatt andrews now with that. >> reporter: the fiscal cliff law passed so quickly many in congress never realized it was full of special interest tax breaks, one of which allows auto racetrack owners to speed up their tax deductions. another tax writeoff goes to hollywood, a $20 million break any time a t.v. show or movie is shot in an economically depressed area of the united

states. there's a subsidy for rum made in puerto rico. a tax break if you train a mine rescue worker, and a tax credit for every kilowatt of electricity produced by the wind. all told, a fiscal cliff law designed to reduce the deficit added $74 billion in spending through changes in the tax law. do you consider this pork? >> oh, absolutely. this was filled with pork. >> reporter: republican congressman darrell issa, who voted no on the bill, says many house members felt blindsided by tax breaks that were never publicly debated. >> and it's pork particularly because they couldn't get these through any other way except by throwing them into a bill like this. >> reporter: but supporters of the tax provision say they will create jobs. dan houser of the international speedway corporation, the owner of nascar, says faster tax writeoffs will lead to more investment in tracks and in stadiums. >> it's not a tax break. what it's doing is it's creating

shovel-ready capital investment in communities that desperately need jobs. >> reporter: for many in congress, though, who had sworn off pork barrel spending, these middle-of-the-night tax breaks represent a new level of pork. earmarks used to come from an individual member of congress but, anthony, tax code changes are more likely to come from lobbyists. >> mason: wyatt, wasn't tax reform supposed to be part of resolving the fiscal cliff? >> it is supposed to be long term, anthony. and now this is going to complicate that. remember, the idea behind tax reform is you lower rates for everyone but you pay for that by closing loopholes. last night congress just added $70 billion worth of new loopholes. >> mason: extraordinary. thanks, wyatt. wall street was not very concerned about what was in the deal, it was just happy there was a deal. on this first day of trading of the new year, the dow soared more than 300 points. but moody's warned today that if washington fails to take more action to cut the deficit, america's stellar credit rating

will be at risk. secretary of state hillary clinton was released today from a new york hospital where she was being treated for a blood clot in her head. the secretary left in a motorcade with former president bill clinton and their daughter chelsea. margaret brennan is at new york presbyterian hospital. margaret? >> reporter: anthony, secretary clinton was just discharged from the hospital. her car pulled away just moments ago and her spokesperson released this statement saying: "her medical team advised her she is making good progress on all fronts and they are confident she will make a full recovery." earlier today, secretary clinton made her first public appearance in three weeks as she walked out of the harkness eye institute and into a secure van along with a smiling bill and chelsea clinton and accompanied by security detail. now, there are private doors here at the hospital. she could have used them to avoid those cameras but she chose to walk out smiling into

the cold new york air. and the state department does say that secretary clinton has been very active by phone and in communication with her staff. >> mason: good to see her again. thanks, margaret. children who survived last month's massacre in newtown, connecticut, got their first look at their new school today. students, parents, and teachers attended an open house at a former middle school being renamed sandy hook elementary. the superintendent says they'll try to keep the routine as normal as possible when classes resume tomorrow. the number of background checks for gun sales was already on the rise before the newtown tragedy brought calls for tougher gun laws. now the f.b.i. says it conducted a record $2.8 million checks last month. that's up 39% from november when the total hit two million for the first time. in syria at least a hundred people were killed today in attacks across the country and the united nations now estimates that more than 60,000 people

have been killed in syria's nearly two-year-old civil war. that's far higher than earlier estimates by opposition forces. elizabeth palmer was one of the few reporters to get inside syria last month. she's in london tonight. good evening, liz. >> reporter: good evening. >> reporter: liz, what do you think accounts for significantly higher estimated killings? has the pace of killing increased? >> it certainly has. and one of the main reasons is that the rebels have opened up new fronts in civilian areas in many of the cities in syria so they've become part of the battleground. for example, today a shell landed in a rebel-held area in the damascus suburbs but on civilians lining up to buy gasoline. horrendous casualties. it's a scene that's repeated across the country. and, of course, these incidents are especially lethal. >> mason: meanwhile, syria's president bashar al-assad refuses to leave. so what now? >> well, the opposition have said they won't open

negotiations until he goes so we've got a deadlock. and this thing is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. >> mason: liz palmer in london tonight. thanks, liz. can being a little overweight actually be good for you? a warning about deadly waves in california. and plans to salvage a drilling rig that ran aground hit a somethat that when the "cbs evening news" continues. i havenfor years. about aspirin aspirin wouldn't really help my headache, i don't think. aspirin is just old school. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. what's different? it has micro-particles. enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪

[ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula soothes your throat on contact and the active ingredient relieves your cough. robitussin®. don't suffer the coughequences™. and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission.

humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. get headed in a new direction. with humira, remission is possible. yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't.

the "journal of the american medical association" had us scratching our heads. it says obesity increases the risk of death by 18%. but here's what stopped us. the report also says being slightly overweight lowers the risk by 6%. so we called in dr. jon lapook jon, can you help us understand this? >> reporter: this is the kind of study that gets widely misinterpreted. yes, for some people having extra weight may be protective for reasons we don't understand. perhaps for example by giving you extra energy stores for times of illness. but the main message continues to be obesity increases your risk for early death. this is what i tell my patients. weight is just one factor in your health. if somebody comes in and they're a little overweight and their exercising and their numbers are good, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, i'll tell them don't gain a lot more, i don't want you to become obese. on the other hand if the numbers are not good i'm going to

encourage them to lose weight. >> mason: but maybe like what our grandmothers used to say to us, a little extra padding may not be so bad. >> that padding around the middle is particularly dangerous, anthony, because we found out belly fat increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer and even dementia. >> mason: it so matters where the fat is. >> definitely. there's no free lunch, bottom line. >> mason: (laughs) okay. dr. jon lapook, thanks, jon. pennsylvania's governor said today he's suing the n.c.a.a. claiming it overstepped its ority when it penalized penn state after the child sex abuse scandal. assistant football coach jerry sandusky was convicted of molesting ten boys. governor tom corbett says the penalties-- including a $60 million fine-- harm students who had nothing to do with the crimes. the n.c.a.a. says the lawsuit has no merit. avis is getting into the car sharing business, buying zipcar for almost half a billion dollars. it gives the nation's

third-largest car rental agency access to a fast-growing segment of the industry which allows members to rent cars by the hour. she was one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. remembering patti page and her music next. ♪ i remember the night and the tennessee waltz ♪

i've always kept my eye on her... but with so much health care noise, i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still going to give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. that's chilly! [ male announcer ] bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on. get coricidin hbp. the number one pharmacist recommended cold brand designed for people with high blood pressure.

and the only one i use to relieve my cold symptoms without raising my blood pressure. coricidin hbp. [♪...] >> i've been training all year for the big race in chicago, but i can only afford one trip. and i just found out my best friend is getting married in l.a. there's no way i'm missing that. then i heard about hotwire and i realized i could actually afford both trips. see, when really nice hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so i got my four-star hotels for half-price! >> men: ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com >> announcer: save big on car rentals too, from $12.95 a day.

>> mason: a shell oil drilling rig remains stuck off the coast of alaska today after running aground near an uninhabited island. the rig was being towed south for winter on sunday when it ran into trouble. it's carrying 143,000 gallons of diesel fuel. the coast guard doesn't believe any has leaked, but crews haven't been able to get on board because of rough seas. authorities in california put out a warning today about dangerous waves. a man drowned yesterday in point reyes. the police say he and his wife had gone into the water to rescue their dog. the wife and the dog got out safely but the man was swept away. just a month ago, three people drowned while trying to save their dog at another beach in northern california. her smooth voice and sentimental

songs made patti page the best-selling female artist of the 1950s. the singer, who sold more than a hundred million records, died today. she was 85. ♪ i was dancing with my darling to the tennessee waltz ♪ >> mason: her 1950 hit "tennessee waltz" spent 13 weeks at the top of the charts. with 15 million selling singles, she was dubbed "the singing rage miss patti page." ♪ how much is that doggie in the window ♪ >> reporter: born clara ann fouler in claire mortar, oklahoma, she was one of 11 children of a railroad worker. as she told oklahoma public television in 2010. >> i do remember singing for five different presidents. so that was quite a thrill for

me. ♪ can you imagine how much i love you ♪ >> mason: page's greatest success came before the grammy awards were created. ♪ you're sure to fall in love with old cape cod ♪ >> mason: but she finally won her first in 1999. ♪ winding roads that seem to beckon you ♪ >> mason: next month page was due to receive the grammy's lifetime achievement award. sandy took his life savings. what does he think about the politicians holding up recovery money? that's next. i gave birth to my daughter on may 18th, five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen.

[ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ] mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003.

usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪ [ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula soothes your throat on contact and the active ingredient relieves your cough. robitussin®. don't suffer the coughequences™. mommy's having a french fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them.

visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪ state. ahead civil war brewing inside the -- straight ahead, civil war brewing inside the republican party? plus the fiscal fiasco not over yet. >> >> mason: we began the broadcast with politicians fighting over money to fund the recovery from sandy. we end with a man who lived through the superstorm and is still waiting for help. seth doane has his story. >> i was living the american dream until this storm and it just takes everything away. >> reporter: dominick cammarata has been working with

his sons to rebuild the first floor of his staten island new york home since sandy wiped it out nine weeks ago. now he has a new problem. >> i'm out of money. i'm at a stand still now. i -- i could move forward, i can put sheetrock up, but after the sheetrock there's no more money. >> reporter: the only financial help he's gotten is $18,000 from fema. >> they're telling me that i can rebuild my house for $18,000. you can't rebuild your house for $18,000. >> reporter: cammarata is hoping he'll get some of the $32 billion of sandy aid that's destined for new york if congress passes the relief bill. when you see lawmakers in washington delaying that vote, does that impact you? what goes through your mind? >> oh, yeah, it makes you sick. it's like a slap in the face when you think about the way we're being treated by the government that they're withholding money that should have been given to us to help us rebuild. >> reporter: this is the president hugging your wife? president obama along with new york senators and governor

visited cam cammarata's neighborhood and spoke with him in mid-november. cammarata is happy they're pressuring their fellow lawmakers for the relief money. >> they actually seen the destruction firsthand. now let's see if the money is going to get forwarded to the people who really need it. >> reporter: with no savings left and no more help from washington, he worries he might lose the home he built 25 years ago. seth doane, cbs news, staten island. >> mason: and that's the "cbs evening news." scott will be back tomorrow. i'm anthony mason. thanks for watching. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

this is 9 news now. >> there's only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims, the house majority and their speaker, john boehner. >> more drama on capitol hill tonight after republican lawmakers in the house decided they were not going to vote on a relief bill for victims of superstorm sandy, at least the before the 112th congress shut down. the good news is there does appear to be some help on the way, but let's back it up. last night house leaders say the 112th congress will come to a close without a vote on the sandy aid package and republicans like congress members peter king and new jersey governor chris christie lashed out at gop lawmakers, their own party. >> politics was placed before our oath to serve our citizens. for me